Dog Product~ Comfy Cone

Dog product~ Comfy Cone

The Comfy Cone is an alternative to the Elizabethan collar. For those of you who do not know what an Elizabethan collar is, and I suspect there are very few, it is that big plastic cone shaped collar that a vet will send home with you to keep your dog from chewing a particular stitched or wounded area. Sizes seem to range from petite to Elephant! Most dogs will have their first experience with one at about six months of age when they are spayed or neutered. The Elizabethan collar is one that you and your dog will never forget because as your pup comes out of that anesthetic, drugged induced state from an operation and realizes this huge intrusion around his neck he is going to start freaking out! The dog may look like he’s walking drunk, his navigational skills will go from running like a Gazelle to that of banging into and knocking over furniture, runing into door frames, flinging knick knacks off the table, banging into your shins, (ouch) and virtually anything that is not nailed down is not safe from a dog who’s wearing an Elizabethan collar. It is at this point that you will feel so bad for this pitiful looking animal that you may be tempted to take it off right then and there. But let me assure you, the majority of dogs get used to it by day two, although they may still not be able to navigate perfectly, they are not freaking out as they did on day one, by day two they’re just getting pissed off at having it around their neck and by day three they are beginning to think you are a sadistic owner and wondering why the shelter or breeder did not do a background check on you!

However, if you own an giant breed dog such as my Newfy Chance, who needs to have an Elizabethan collar on for longer than a five day period, you are soon going to have to break out the duct tape because with each bang into a door frame or a piece of furniture, and with the shear muscle strength of each hit, the plastic cone is going to start to crack and crumble and you will eventually have it so packed with duct tape that the clear plastic cone is no longer clear but is certainly much more decorated and flexible. If you never again have to buy an Elizabethan collar through the dog’s life, consider yourself very lucky!

Because of the hot spots that Chance is prone to, some type of collar on hand at all times is a necessity. If a hot spot is continuously licked and chewed there will soon be a full scale bacterial infection which will require a vet visit. So short from having to cut off his tongue to prevent licking, I opted to invest in a different collar. Enter the Comfy Cone; a flexible nylon cone that is already crunchable for those mishaps with door frames, so it yields to the hit against an object, but it bounces back into position once the hit is done. It attaches to the dog’s collar or you can use a separate band (not included) for attachment. Sizes come in small (8-10 neck) to X- large (21-25). Obviously I went for the X- large which was still a bit tight for Chance’s neck, but I managed to make it fit without cutting off his oxygen and turning his tongue blue. There are a few lines of Velcro to adjust the size and the Velcro lines are fairly thick giving it a stronger hold.

Pros: I think this was a good investment for the $30.00 (15.00 for a size small) which is about the same price for two Elizabethan collars, because it will last longer than five days for a giant breed dog. It did the job for the most part which was to make it difficult for Chance to constantly reach his hot spot. It bounced back whenever it took a hit and it seemed to be more comfortable for the dog to lie down in.  When eating , I could also flip it over his back so it did not interfere.

Cons: I think the makers of this product could do a better job in the neck sizing for giant breed dogs as well as extend the length a bit. With the flexibility of the cone I did find that because of the strength of Chance’s head on occasion he was able to bend the cone and reach his hot spot, however, it was not a constant occurrence.
If the dog has long hair it really sticks to the thick Velcro strips that are not used which can be uncomfortable for the dog. I did find that I had to cut some of Chance’s hair off to free him of the cone.

For a giant breed dog I would give it one paw up and one down for the reasons stated above. The concept is good, but adjustments could be made.

Next I am going to put it on Casey, my Golden Retriever, for a week and see how it works on your regular large breed dog. Not that Casey has any wounds to warrant the collar, but the general public is more likely to have a regular run of the mill large breed dog so I want to be fair. So Casey, buck up, I’m about to torture you!

Dog health~Celebrating July 4th BTFD

Dog health~ Celebrating July 4th BTFD (Before The Family Dogs)

Ah, the Fourth of July, the gathering of family and friends, the barbeque's, people blowing off their finger tips with illegal bottle rockets, the town fireworks display, and the drinks! Those were the days of fun and relaxation, the days before the family dogs came to live with us! Did you ever notice it only takes one dog to act like a complete lunatic to set off the whole pack? There’s not enough Prozac in the world for them or me on July 4TH!

BTFD I used to love the fourth of July, we’d bring our visiting New York family to Shamokin, or “smokin’ shmokin” as we New Yorker’s call it, a place that has no money for town revitalization, but boy can they put on a grand pyrotechnics display! We’d park on the street, put on our 3D glasses, strap on a thermos of drinks, and open a bag of snacks. The moon roof would glide open, the seats would recline and we were ready to watch the show. Pure delectable pleasure! Ah yes, those were the days!

At present, beginning on June 1st and up to July 4th (as well as sometime there after) is a total nightmare! Seemingly fireworks can be set off at any time in the neighborhood without warning and clearly by neighbors that are not dog owners, or if they are, then they sedate them heavily before they begin! It only takes one pyrotechnics blast in the neighborhood for my brood to be set off for a continuous two hour barkfest. Once they hear the snap, crackle, pop, and sizzle of a firecracker I know it’s going to be a long, long, night.

It’s about this time of year that I wish I had gone to school to become a veterinarian because surely I would have seven medically loaded needles laid out neatly on the kitchen counter ready to knock them all out. Sweet dreams guys! But alas, when I was in school, unless you were a persistent person, the future for girls was geared to being a good secretary, a good housekeeper or a good cook and we all know where I fall in the cooking category! After my first day in culinary class when asked to touch raw meat, I said, "Adios Amigos!"

July 4Th could be somewhat bearable if there were a specific time frame that we could lall ive by, at least give us time to prepare for the upheaval, the time to tether the dogs so they are not jumping out the window, and the time to mentally prepare ourselves for what is about to come! How about starting the blasting after 9 pm and ending by 11 pm, especially on a weeknight. I'm thinking there must be some rule in place already, but if there is, it is not enforced. Let’s face it, calling the cops on your neighbors, well, that’s just not neighborly, and so we endure and just when we think it’s over, Boom, another goes off.

Enter Rescue Remedy the first big chatter among dog owners, an herb that was supposed to calm dogs from such anxieties. Rescue Remedy came in the form of drops to put in the water or in a spray to squirt on the tongue. I chose the spray since it was only the main instigator, Bentley, that I was trying to calm down at the time. The cost in an herbal store was a whopping $15.00 for a 0.35 oz bottle, but I was desperate. Armed with this in hand I couldn’t wait for the next storm or fireworks blast ‘cuz I was ready to spay Crazy Bentley’s tongue with this miracle product!

Well, that didn’t go so well, I was only able to get three out of the four recommended sprays on the tongue as Bentley paced back and forth in his usual neurotic state and it made no difference in him at all. Each time thereafter that I reached for the bottle just before a storm, Bentley got wise and my squirts started to end up on other parts of his body, like his ears, jowls, or eyes, which might explain why he started walking around like he was blind for a few days!


A couple years later along comes Melatonin, supposedly an over the counter wonder herbal delight to help dogs with thunderstorm phobia, fire works, and other anxieties.
Ah, could this be? A cure to the Fourth of July nightmare? A cure for Thunderstorm phobia?
I highly doubted it, but again, why not try it? So I got on line to Puritans Pride and as usual they had their 3 for 1 sale going on so I ordered 3 bottles and by the next week I was rolling in 360 tablets of Melatonin heaven!

When using Melatonin I suggest you use it not only on the day of the fireworks but days before to get it into their system. It did help the dogs to be a little more calm  and to calm down a bit sooner when the fireworks were over.

So this July 4th you may want to invest in a small bottle if your dog is bothered by fireworks and if it doesn't work for your dog, you can always use it for your insomnia!

Here is information on Melatonin. Always speak to your vet before trying any over the counter medication.

Melatonin and dosing information click here

You can read more on melatonin as well as other methods used for phobias here
http://www.ygrr.org/doginfo/behavior-phobia.html


Another over the counter medicine popular to use because it makes the dog drowsy is Benadryl. You can read about dosing by clicking here:


You may want to try the Thunder Shirt as well. You can find them in most pet stores.
Thunder shirt: click here

Some people will crank up the TV, turn on the AC and put cotton in the dogs ears to muffle the booming levels.